American Gas - December 2012/January 2013 - (Page 5)

industrynews PeoPle Trends evenTs mutual assistance After sandy: stepping Up and Helping out After witnessing the devAstAtion caused by Hurricane Sandy, employees of Ontario-based Union Gas were eager to help out their hard-hit neighbors to the southeast. But there was an administrative hurdle: though fully qualified to work on natural gas systems in the U.S., the Canadians didn’t have the same Operator Qualification Certificates required here. That, they worried, could cause a holdup at the border. So American Gas Association staff members stepped in to help arrange waivers from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration. And within a week after the storm passed, a crew of 22 Canadian technicians, managers, and support staff were crossing into the U.S., on an 11hour trip to storm-ravaged New York City and Long Island. This was just one small way AGA helped to coordinate the response to one of the biggest natural disasters the country has ever seen, says Nneka Assing, who administers AGA’s mutual assistance program. In response to the storm, AGA has worked with he Northeast Gas Association, which counts the most seriously affected gas companies—Consolidated Edison, National Grid, and New Jersey Natural Gas—among its members. Even as the storm approached the Eastern seaboard, AGA was working with NGA to prepare, agreeing that NGA would spearhead communications with utilities in the Northeast, while AGA would take the rest of the country. Immediately after Sandy hit, carole erger-fass AGA participated in daily conference calls that included 20 or more representatives from both affected utilities as well as those offering assistance. “Given the extent of the damage, I think the effort worked quite seamlessly,” says Assing. “Those daily conference calls made a big difference.” Participants in AGA’s mutual assistance program sent hundreds of crew members to help with leak detection, assessing meter assembly condition, replacing meters and regulators and re-lights, primarily along the hard-hit New Jersey barrier islands. Staffers from New Orleans-based Entergy Corp. offered the expertise they had gained rebuilding flooded gas systems after Hurricane Katrina. And, of course, there was Canada’s Union Gas, a subsidiary of Texasbased Spectra Energy. Union spokesperson Andrea Stass said utilities across the industry have a long record of helping each other in times of crisis—despite the bureaucratic obstacles. “Whether it’s something huge like Sandy or a more isolated problem,” she says, “it’s just our instinct to step up and help out, no matter what.” december 2012/january 2013 AmericAn GAs 5

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - December 2012/January 2013

American Gas - December 2012/January 2013
Contents
President’s Message
Industry News
Election 2012
Safety First
To Be the Best
Ron Jibson: The Trust Factor
Home on the Range
Places to Be
Jobline
Advertisers Index
Noteworthies
Marketplace
Facts on Gas

American Gas - December 2012/January 2013